Apparatus for vacuum drying packages of yarn having means for rotating the packages



1947- P. H. VAN SCHERPENZEEL 2.432.952 APPARATUS FOR VACUUM DRYING PACKAGES OF YARN HAVING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE PACKAGES Original Filed Feb. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ZEEL CKAGES 0F HE Dec. 16, 1947.

APPARA'IU on v cuum 1mm OH R H VAN SCHERPEN DRYIN YARN OTATI PACKAGES Filed Feb. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 paratus constituting S. Patent No. 2,266,375, issued De- Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT v orricr.

ArPARA'rus FOR 22 21:; name aler- AGES OF YARN HAVING MEANS FOR EQ- TATING THE PACKAGES Pieter H. van Scherpenzeel, West Ashev'ille, assignor to American Enka Corporation,

N. 0., Enka,

N. 0., a corporation of Delaware Original application February 11, 1946, Serial No.

6 Claims;

The present application is a division of my application Serial No. 646,877, filed February 11, 1946. I,

This invention relates to an apparatus for the drying of packages of rayon and similar; textile yarns of threads and more particularly to an apimprovements over those disclosed in U. cember 16, 1941, reference to which is hereby made.

U. S. Patent No. 2,266,375 describes and claims a method of drying rayon packages under a'controlled vacuum in a closed container to effect the drying of the rayon at lower temperatures than would otherwise bepossible, the drying of the packages proceeding from the inside to the outside thereof. An apparatus for practicing the 'method is also described and claimed in the said ages may be assembled on patent. In this connection it is to be noted that the container is provided with a number of heating cylinders extending inwardly from one end wall thereof. The cylinders are each open at their fixed ends to permit the circulation of a'heating medium therethrou-gh, at their unsupported ends to confine the heating medium to the interiors thereof. Rayon packthe cylinders in any convenient manner, e. g., as shown in the patent, they may be arranged in side-by-side relationship on loading tubes which are adapted to slide snugly over their respective cylinders. Each of the tubes is of such diameter with respect to the raying of rayon in those on packages that it is sufficiently small to permit complete contraction of'the rayon in the packages during drying.

Despite the fact that all heat, be directly applied to the packages through the medium of the cylinders and that they disclosed the presence of insulation material as a lining for the container, it has been determined that in the use of such an apparatus the drying does not proceed entirely as desired since some drying actually takes place prematurely in those segments of the outer portions of the pack ages which are adjacent or near the shell of the container. This premature drying in the outer portions of said packages is due to the radiation of heat from the shell of the container. The dryportions of the outsides of the respective interiors of the packages creates tension in the outer portion and causes shrinkage diflerences in the packages which in turn produces a barre effect in weaving and creates uneven dyeing characteristics in the threads.

the packages before Divided-and this application June 6,

1947, Serial No. 752,861

the cylinders being closed It is an object of the present invention to provide means for drying packages of rayon which involve the rotation of the rayon packages during,

such drying operation so that all portions of the outside of the packages are exposed to the shell of the container for substantially the same time during the drying period.

It is a further object of the invention to effect the drying of packages of rayon under a high vacuum and by a heating medium substantially confined to the interiors of the packages whereby the drying takes place from the inside to outside thereof, and to avoid objectionable premature drying which might normally occur in segments of the outer portions of packages positioned near the container shell by effecting periodic partial rotation of said packages during the drying period.

the patentees intend that a of apparatus made in Another object of the invention is to provide a drying apparatus having rotatably'mounted loading tubes on those heating cylinders positioned adjacent or near the shell of the container so that the loading tubes supporting the packages exposed to radiation of be rotated at intervals during drying.

This invention also contemplates the provision of a drying apparatus having a plurality'of parallel rotatably mounted loading tubes arranged within a container adjacent or near the shell thereof in which the tubes are geared together for simultaneous rotation, and in which exterior means are provided for effecting partial rotation of the tubes.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of one form accordance with this invention, the container being partially broken away to show the mechanism for rotating the loading tubes; and I l Figure 2 is a transverse ectional view through the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, showing the arrangement of the heating cylinders and the loading tubes with gears fon rotating the packages positioned adjacent the cylindrical shell of the container.

Referring to the drawings in" detail there is shown a vacuum drier generally indicated at' 10.

plated that a large number-of heating cylinders ll be utilized and arranged in the manner indiheat from the shell may aesaosa' ranged with-their respective gears II in, mesh with adjacent ones of the series and therefore the partial rotation of one of the tubes of the outer row will result in the rotation of each ofthe said tubes.

Whereas in the drawings, only the extreme outer, row of loading tubes ll are shown provided with gears l6 to effect rotation of the tubes, it is contemplated that the next adjacent row or rows may also be provided with similar gears in case it is necessary to rotate the Same during drying.

Gearing designated generally at l! is provided rotating the tubes. may be made in the apparatus without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is to be limited only to the extent of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for drying rayon packages having thread-free centers which comprises a container, means for hermetically sealing the same, a plurality of imperforate heating cylinders fixedly arranged in the container, loading tubes adapted to support rayon packages thereon and to removably fit over the cylinders. means on the loading tubes near the shell of the container for rotating the loading tubes at will durfor driving the gears. I6. Gearing l1 includes a spur gear I8 which meshes with the lowermost gear iii of the series. Gear i8 is keyed to counter shaft l9 which shaft is suitably supported in bearings fixed on plate by means of standard 2|. Plate 20 constitutes a cover for an opening 22in the shell of the drier H). A bevel gear 23 is mounted on the end of shaft l9 remote from gear I8. Bevel gear 23 meshes with a bevel gear 24 mounted on vertical shaft 25. Shaft 25 extends down through a stumng box hearing assembly 28 and plate 20 so that driving of the gear train may be efiected from outside of the vacuum drier. Any suitable means for rotating shaft 25 may be employed such as a ratchet lever, wheel or crank (not shown). Shaft 25 may be operated either manually or automatically. While container [0 may be lined with insulating material as shown in the said patent the lining is not essential when the loading tubes adjacent the container are constructed for rotation as described.

. In practicing the present method in the drier as described, rayon packages are first assembled on all of the loading tubes H and the tubesswith the packages thereon are deposited over the heating cylinders l I. It is to be understood that those loading tubes H to which the gears. l6 are secured are deposited upon the heating cylinders of the outer annular row or rows of cylinders whereas the normal tubes are deposited upon the inner cylinders. At this stagethe drier is hermetically sealed and evacuated to a high vacuum. A heating medium is circulated through the closed cylinders in the manner described in U. S. Patent No, 2,266,375 so that the packages on the tubes are dried progressively from the inside to the outside. At intervals the cylinders located adjacent or near the shell of the drier are partially rotated. The extent of such rotation and the time intervals between each rotating operation are dependent On the particular conditions employed. It has'been determined that turning the tubes 90to 180 every 8 to 16 hours'eLminates most of the irregularities which would normally occur during drying and that rotating the said tubes and packages of rayon thereon 90 every 12 hours is especially suitable under the conditions employed in the referred to patent. It is of course understood that the packages should not be turned in either direction so that they are out of their original positions more than 180 at any one time.

It is to be understood that various modifications, such as using more than one gear train for 1 being provided with a ing the drying operation and means for evacuating the container.

2. An apparatus for drying rayon packages having thread-free centers which comprises a container, means for hermetically sealing the same, a plurality of imperforate heating cylinders fixedly arranged in the container, loading tubes adapted to support rayon packages thereon and to removably fit over the cylinders, gears on the inner ends of the loading tubes near the shell of the container for rotating the loading tubes at will during the drying operation, means for driving the gears from the outside of the container and means for evacuating the container.

3. A drying apparatus for rayon packages having thread-free centers comprising, an annular chamber provided with an open end, a removable door for closing said chamber, sealing means between the door and the chamber, annularly arranged rows of parallel imperforate heating elements extending inwardly parallel to the horizontal axis of the shell of the chamber, loading tubes for receiving packages of rayon thereon, one of said tubes fitting over each of the heating elements and closely engaging the same, said loading tubes that are mounted on the heating elements of the outer annular rows each being provided. with a spur gear fixed to its end remote from the door, the spur gears 0n the tubes meshing to form a continuous gear chain, a gear fixed in position within the chamber and meshing with one of the spur gears of the chain, means for rotating the said gear which in turn effects the rotation of each of the tubes of the outer row with the packages thereon, and means for evacuatin the chamber.

4. A drying apparatus for rayon packages having thread-free centers comprising, an annular chamber, parallel imperforate heating elements extending inwardly from a plate constituting the end wall of the chamber, loading tubes for holding packages of. rayon, said tubes being detachably positioned upon the heating elements and being rotatably mounted thereon, the tubes each spur gear fixed to its end adjacent the plate, said gears on the tubes meshing to form a continuous gear chain, means for rotating the gears of the train to eifect the rotation of each of the tubes with the packages thereon and means for evacuating the chamber.

5. A drying apparatus for rayon packages having thread-free centers comprising, an annular chamber, means for evacuating the chamber, rows of parallel imperforate heating elements extending inwardly parallel to the horizontal axis of the shellof the chamber, loading tubes for receivingpackages of rayon thereon, said tubes being snugly mounted upon the heating elements, a series of the loading tubes each being provided in position, within the chamber for meshing with one of the spur gears of the chain when the carrier tubes are in operative position, a. shaft for said fixed ear, a vertical shaft extending through the shell of the chamber, bevel gears connecting 1 the said shafts and a stufling box surrounding the vertical shaft, whereby the rotation of the vertical shaft will effect the rotation of the gears of the chain with their respective carrier tubes and the packages positioned thereon.

6. A drying apparatus for rayon packages having thread-free centers comprising, an annular chamber provided with an open end, a sealed door for closing said chamber, annularly arranged rows of parallel lmperforate heating tubes extending inwardly parallel to the horizontal axis of the shell of the chamber, two sets of loading tubes for receiving packages of rayon thereon, the loading tubes of each set each being removably positioned over and snugly engaging one of the heatingtubes, the loading tubes that comprise the set mounted on the respective heating elements of the outer annular rows each being provided with a spur gear fixed to its inner end, the spur gears on said tubes meshing to form a continuous gear chain, -a gear fixed in position within the chamber and meshing with one of the spur gears of the chain, means for rotating the said gear which in turn 6 effects the rotation of each of said loading tubes of the outer rows together with the packages thereon and means for evacuating the chamber. PIETER H. VAN SCHERPENZEEL.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:-

UlflITED STATES PATENTS 

